The Bear With A Nougat Center
by GawdSaveTehQueen
Summary: Kasanoda loves Haruhi, he knows it, but she doesn't. Can Kasanoda woo this oblivious heroine? Or will he die from embarrassment first? KasaHaru Rated M for future chapters.
1. Bear Gets A Date

I do not own any of the Ouran characters, they just so happen to be easy targets for dreaming.

_Thoughts **Inner thoughts/replies**_

Bear Gets a Date

All was quiet, well, mostly quiet, save for the steady sound of footsteps coming down the hall toward the door. They slowed as the approached the door.

Kasanoda reached his hand to the elaborate handle and turned it, the door swung open easily to allow him to smell a wondrous mixture of roses, and cake.

"Welcome!" he'd heard them all say in unison, and once his eyes adjusted to the light emitted from the windows on the opposite side of the room, he saw them.

They were all standing around a chair containing Tamaki, who seemed brighter than usual, if that were possible. His golden tresses were nowhere to be seen; only sleek black hair, brushed straight down, it fell neatly to his naked shoulders. His head was topped with a pharaoh's head cloth, with a golden cobra delicately resting at his forehead.

He wore no shirt, only an elegantly made, broad, golden necklace. The only article of clothing to be seen on him was a white linen wrap draped about his waist, and secured with a belt made of small, rounded golden plates, strung together, and separated by small sapphire beads. His shoes were simple, yet just as elegant, made of reeds that had been woven into a rudimentary pair of flip-flops, with gold beading on the straps.

Kasanoda continued his scan and his eyes befell the Hitachiin brothers, both loosely draped in a wrapped, white linen dress with their own delicate neck pieces. They both also had raven hair that fell to their shoulders, but unlike their "king's" hair, theirs had golden caps at the end. They also had a small amount of shiny, gold colored eye-shadow on, and also wore the woven shoes.

Keeping his eyes moving about the group, what he saw next made his heart sink. He saw a short, anime eyed man, also with raven hair, only his fell lower than his shoulders, and instead ceased at his shoulder blades. He had a golden band around his head, and was dressed in a pleated wrapped garment, similar to that of the twins, with woven reed slippers, with bead woven in as well instead of flip-flops.

Shaking his head at poor Hunny, he scanned further, and his eyes befell none other than his idol: Mori-sempai. His hair was still short, thankfully so in Kasanoda's opinion, he wore a rigid cap, which rose from his head and scooped back to a rounded tip. Mori, much like Tamaki, only wore one stitch of clothing, in the form of a pleated, white linen wrap, also secured with a golden belt. He also had a gold neck piece and woven slippers.

It was after this that Kasanoda saw a sight he was all too willing to see: Haruhi. She was elegantly wrapped in a pleated linen dress, similar to Hunny's. Her short chestnut hair was replaced with the going trend of black, and hers fell to her shoulder blades as well. She had a golden band round her head, with a cobra at her forehead like Tamaki, she also had the same golden caps on her hair that the twins had.

_She looks beautiful! I just want to lay her down and unwrap that dress like she were a Christmas present. _ Kasanoda's face turned pink at this thought, and his mind could not leave the image that he had burned in his mind of that day that he saw her nearly naked.

More perverse thoughts were threatening to break free and run rampant through his libido. That is, until they were so rudely interrupted.

"Aw, it's just Bossanova-kun." the twins said in unison. Turning their backs to him and walking toward a distant couch across from a few girls, thusly, returning to their "jobs."

After exchanging greetings with Hunny and Mori, Kasanoda approached the dark king of the club, he found him to be similarly dressed.

Kyoya wore an outfit similar to that of Mori, and Tamaki, with the wrapped kilt, belt, neckpiece and flip-flops. He had the shorter trend of raven hair, stopping at his bare shoulders, his hair was plain though, no caps, no head pieces, only a false beard donned his face.

"Can I help you?" the megane asked while looking up from his bookkeeping to the man whom had interrupted him.

"I…. that is…. I would….. -_Ahem-_ I would like to request Fujioka-kun." Kasanoda said, finding his throat entirely too dry. The megane simply waved his arm in the direction of an empty loveseat. Kasanoda was only too happy to oblige this request of movement and quickly sped over to the couch and sat down, his face already red and burning.

_Why would she wear something like that? What if someone noticed something and found out her secret?_

_**Who cares?! As long as she wears it!**_

_She did look really cute, but now I can't get the image of her naked back out of my mind. It makes me want to…_

It was then that he heard the clink of the silver tray hit the table as Haruhi placed their tea and snacks there. Kasanoda sat and stared at her, until it sunk in exactly _where _his thoughts were going, then he blushed more profusely and tuned away, finding the air amazingly thin whenever he turned to face her. After his face stopped feeling like a full-on bonfire and more like a small campfire, he turned to face her, and found that she had already poured tea for the two of them and was currently holding a cup out for him to take.

This was not his first time in here, he knew how it worked, and he had seen Haruhi and the other club members dressed in their uniforms, tending to their clients. He didn't redden as bad when it was just their school uniforms, but he couldn't force the blush from his face or the thoughts from his mind when he saw her in cosplay.

"I hope you're okay with jasmine tea, and puff pastry." She said while absentmindedly sipping her tea and looking off into nowhere.

"Oh, um, yeah, that's fine. I'm fine with whatever you have."

"Casanova-kun, your face is all red, are you sick?" she questioned as she moved her hand toward his forehead.

The unexpected movement caught him off guard and her hand lightly tapped his forehead. His face raged tomato red, and he felt fire in his cheeks, but where her hand was, was surprisingly cool; it felt good. He turned away from her again at this thought.

"You don't feel like have a fever, but your cheeks are really red."

"No, I'm not sick, but there is something wrong with me."

"Something wrong with you, like what?" she said with a somewhat worried expression on her face.

"Like that evil face, for one." said one of the Hitachiins, who had found it in his best interest to sit peeking over the back of the loveseat at the two of them.

"And what do you know about an evil face?" Kasanoda asked, suddenly finding the need to defend himself.

"We know you have one." said the other Hitachiin, appearing from the other side of the loveseat.

"And we don't want you scaring our precious Haruhi." The both chimed in together, while hugging her between them.

"If anything, _you_ are the ones scaring me." She said blandly from between their two faces. But from the way that the twins reacted, you could have sworn that she had slapped one in the face, for one of them fell backwards to the floor with a thud.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru shouted while running to his brother's side, practically lifting him into his arms and placing a hand on his cheek turn his brother's face to him.

"Are you okay Kaoru?! Are you hurt?" he asked desperately, staring into his twin's eyes with all the love of the world.

"I'm only hurt by what Haruhi said to us." Kaoru replied, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"In that case, you should listen only to what I say to you." Hikaru practically whispered to his brother, wiping the tear away with his thumb as the rest of his hand still cradled his brother's head.

Fan-girl screams could be heard across the room, but Haruhi was beyond caring about what happened. She had gone back to paying attention to her guest, and her tea.

"Those guys are incorrigible." she said with a shake of her head. "Where were we?"

"Um, I don't remember." he lied, blushing as he remembered exactly where they were.

She looked him over, trying to think about what they were talking about, then she saw him blushing and it came back to her. "I remember," she said with a smile "we were talking about something being wrong with you."

"That's right. Um… I was telling you what was..." he swallowed hard "wrong with me." he finished.

Haruhi's face donned with a gentle smile, she took a sip of her tea. "You don't have to tell me you know."

"I know. But it's just that, I want to tell you. No, I _do_ have to tell you." And with that said, he gulped down his tea in one sip as though it were hard liquor that would give him the courage to get through this.

"Haruhi, I… I mean… I… think you look beautiful today, and that's part of what's wrong with me."

"How does that have anything to do with what's wrong with you?" she asked bluntly.

"I mean it's just that I saw you without your shirt, and…"

"I told you I don't care if you tell." she said with an easy smile that Kasanoda thought looked like it needed to be framed in a border of roses.

"Well, I saw your maiden skin, and well, I feel guilty. Like I've stolen something from you, but the thing is, I… I don't want to give it back."

With his mock confession out on the table, he turned to try and leave the awkward moment when Haruhi caught his arm dragging him back down.

She looked him straight in the eye; he returned the look reluctantly, agonizing over the absolute silence, until Haruhi took the initiative.

"I don't feel like I'm missing something."

"Let me get you something. What is your favorite color?"

"I don't really have one." She replied shortly, with a puzzled look on her face.

"What's your favorite animal?"

"I don't really have one of those either." She said with the same puzzled look.

"Then w-what are you doing S-Saturday?"

"I need to go grocery shopping, but that's about it."

"Okay, great! I mean, alright, I'll go with you Saturday."

"That's really not necessary, I can go by myself." She said putting her hands out in front of her, and smiling as she closed her eyes.

"I really want to go with you. What time can I pick you up?"

"I usually leave at about ten." She said before taking a bite out of her pastry.

"Okay, I'll see you Saturday at ten then"

She nodded while finishing her piece of pastry.

Kasanoda grabbed his pastry, placed his cup on the tray, and dashed away, all in a matter of seconds.

_I did it! I have a date with Haruhi… and the host club won't be there, so I can tell her how I really feel._

_**I know! I can't believe you did it! **_

_My heart was beating so fast, I thought I would die._

_**But you didn't.**_

_I wanted to touch her, feel her skin… I wanted to kiss her._

_**There will be time. But you have **__**got**__** to make your move Saturday.**_

_I know. I need to think about a plan, I need a hot bath._

And with that decided Kasanoda went home, got in the bath and started pondering his not so evil plot.

**xxxxxxxxxx Author's Notes xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Okay. So. First fanfic by me ever. My best friend decided that there weren't NEARLY enough fics for this pairing, so I got poked for it. This would be the final product of that poking. I don't think I did bad for my first one, I only had to trash one idea, and therefore re-write two or three sections. I hope you liked it


	2. Bear Gets An Idea

Bear With a Nougat Center

Everything was dark; then again, this was to be expected, seeing as how it was night-time. Kasanoda had finished his much extended bath, and was now standing in front of the bathroom mirror. He stared at himself; his skin still had beads of water on it, his hair hung down his face due to the steam still in the room from his practically scorching bath. He didn't care, he felt better, like he could see things clearer, from a different angle, and yet he was nowhere nearer coming up with a plan for Saturday.

_What in the hell am I going to do? I have a date with her, and yet I have no clue what the hell we're going to do!_

_**It will come to you. You're just too indecisive.**_

_That's not a very nice thing for you to say!_

_**I didn't. You did.**_

"GAH!!!" Kasanoda exclaimed as he snatched a towel up, threw it over his head and began rubbing. When he was satisfied with his now tangled locks he wrapped the towel around his waist and looked back into the mirror. "I need help." He said to himself looking at his own forlorn face.

He finished drying off, brushed his hair back into place, brushed his teeth and moseyed off to bed. He tried desperately to get to sleep, perhaps he was trying too hard, he'd roll from one side to the other, sigh, then roll back over. He tried counting; nothing seemed to work, he kept coming back to Haruhi and their date. Finally he let his mind wander off and he drifted off to sleep.

_There she was, bathed in the morning light, her face had a tinge of red to it, and she wore a simple white sundress with small pink flowers embroidered on it. It hugged her curves wonderfully in Kasanoda's opinion; it flared out just past her hips, and stopped just shy of her knees. She had a small pink pearl hair pin in her hair, neatly tucking her chestnut locks behind her ear. She looked like a doll, right down to her shoes; a pair of pink flats fit the bill perfectly. Kasanoda approached her. Not another sound could be heard, the world had fallen away, it was just the two of them, and Kasanoda wouldn't have it any other way._

_He looked her over again, letting his eyes drink in every single detail about her, the way her eyes glistened, her silken hair, her almost bare shoulders, those gorgeous legs, those beautiful lips. His thoughts stopped at this detail, those lips, practically virgin, so innocent, and so beautiful, he just had to taste them. He reached out for her, her blush became three shades darker, but she came anyway; she came to him. His hands reached to her neck and his fingers caressed the back of her neck as his right thumb brushed over her cheek. She blushed deeper and turned her head away from his gentle touch; he turned her head back to and lowered his head so that their noses were touching. She closed her eyes and Kasanoda made his move. He found her lips to be as soft as velvet, as he kissed her tenderly but deeply, relaying all his emotions to her through the kiss. When he finally broke the kiss he looked her in the eyes, there were tears in them and she was smiling like she had just seen an old friend; it was a warm smile, a tender smile. Kasanoda began to wonder what was wrong until she kissed him. All his worries melted away and she became the air he breathed again. This kiss was not like their first; it wasn't as tender but had just as much emotion in it._

_Kasanoda felt himself teetering on the brink, until he ran his tongue across her lips, her hand curled up in his shirt and her lips parted. It was like she was pulling him in, craving more of him, begging for more. Any sanity he had left shattered and left him as their tongues teased each other in a secret dance. Her hands moved toward the hem of his shirt and under, she ran her hand down his smooth chest. His left hand traveled from its perch at her neck to her collarbone and down to gently cup her breast. She moaned into his mouth and pulled him closer to her. Kasanoda moved his lips to her neck and placed a gentle kiss there. A shudder ran through her body, he could feel her knees threaten to buckle and hugged her to him. _

_He kissed her again, and moved his head so his lips were right at her ear. "I love you." He whispered into her ear, and it wasn't just her knees that gave out then, it was the ground upon which they had been standing. They both fell into darkness holding each other tightly, she was crying, he could feel his shoulder getting wet. She turned her face to him, closed her eyes and touched her forehead to his "I know." She said, and then let go of him. She flew backwards from him, Kasanoda reached out his hand desperately; she only smiled at him and said "Thank you."_

The world became bright again, too much so, Kasanoda couldn't see. "God damn." He cursed as he opened his sleepy eyes only to see nothing but white and immediately shut them again. His door opened, he opened his eyes to see Tetsuya walk in and open the curtains.

"Sleep well?" he asked while looking out the window.

Kasanoda blushed as he remembered exactly _how_ well he slept, that was when he realized he could almost have had a troop of boy-scouts under his blankets. He moved the blankets around quickly trying to hide this embarrassing revelation.

"Oooh, really good dreams huh?" Tetsuya asked slyly looking at Kasanoda.

"Um… I don't… I mean… Uh… I mean that is…" Kasanoda stammered, looking around for a cave to hide in.

"Must have been, your pillow is soaked, and you still have drool on your cheek." He said pointing at Kasanoda and smiling.

Kasanoda put his hand to his cheek and felt a slimy substance there, sure enough; he'd been drooling in his sleep. He wiped his hand on his pajamas, and told Tetsuya to get lost so that he could get ready for school. Tetsuya smiled and walked out the door, he loved it when the little lord was embarrassed.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The school day was flying by for Kasanoda, which was bad for him; he basically slept through English, for no one bothered to wake him up. And who could blame them, he had the face of an angered wild animal and no one wanted a newly awoken wild animal staring them in the face.

He at his lunch our in the garden to allow himself some time to think about what he was going to do about his date with Haruhi tomorrow.

_I could take her to the mall._

_**Yeah, **__**that's**__** original.**_

_You got a better idea? Cause if you do I'd just __**love**__ to hear it!_

_**You've got her going shopping already, only for groceries, but shopping nonetheless. Now, you can also get grocery shopping done at a market, not just a store right?**_

_I suppose, but where else would we go?_

_**DUMMY! Take her to an open-air market, you don't just have to shop for groceries there, you can do other things. It's PERFECT.**_

_That __**does**__ sound good. You know, I do have some merit when it comes to planning things._

_**Not much.**_

Kasanoda soured his face at this last cut at himself, but quickly smiled because he had just talked himself to the solution of his problem! He could now go about the rest of the day fine and dandy.

He finished his lunch and the rest of his day at school happily chanting to himself "_I get to go shopping with Haruhi!" _He was so happy that he almost felt like skipping all the way home, but decided that he would die of embarrassment. So instead he chose to take the long way home to think about tomorrows date; how it was going to go, and where they were going to go, but most importantly (or at least to him) what she would wear. He would outright kill someone to see her dressed in the same dress from his dream, but he then thought about her personality and figured that she'd just wear a shirt and some jeans. She might have her glasses on since it was going to be the weekend and give her eyes a break from her contacts.

The more Kasanoda thought about it, the more he realized that their date could go awry, based only on her wardrobe of the day. What if someone from school saw them and figured out that she was a girl? What if she didn't think about what she was going to wear and just put on sweatpants and an old shirt? What if she _did_ wear her glasses, tripped over a loosened rock or tile, fell, kissed another man while falling on him, hurt herself, and broke her glasses all in one fell swoop? What if some tsukumogami saw the fun that Kasanoda was having and got jealous and kidnapped Haruhi to try and get back at him?

_This could be so bad. I think I'm having second thoughts!_

_**TSUKUMOGAMI. YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT HUNDRED YEAR OLD APPLIANCES?! ARE YOU STUPID?! Stop being an idiot and grow a pair!**_

_I __**do **__have a pair, thank you very much._

_**Then act like it. Everything will go fine, so long as you don't go all crazy with the blush-blush.**_

_I think I can handle that._

"I'm sure she'll be beautiful no matter what she wears." He said with a sigh as he approached his house.

"Who will be beautiful no matter what she wears?" Tetsuya asked.

Kasanoda turned the deepest crimson he ever had and ran to his room, locked the door, and wedged his katana at the base of the door, effectively jamming it. After he was satisfied with his preliminary barrier, he climbed into his bed and pulled the covers over his head.

Everything was fine until he heard the door open, his heart hit the floor, and his mind started spinning with thoughts of jealous gnomes that could open locked and barricaded doors.

"Look, I'm sorry, I've embarrassed you." Tetsuya said as he ventured into the bear's cave.

Kasanoda peered from under his covers and was shocked to see Tetsuya mere feet from him.

"How the _fuck_ did you get in here?"

"Oh, you see, this lock has been broken forever, I thought you knew."

"No, I didn't know. But I put a katana in the door!"

"Also easily explained; this door opens the other way, so the way that you put the katana in, all you did is make it so I would have to step over a katana when I enter the door."

Kasanoda's jaw joined his heart on the floor; his eyes were still wide open with the shock of his failed lock-out attempts. He immediately got up, went to his dresser and pulled out a black marker from the top drawer. He rolled up his sleeves, only to groan when he saw his left arm said "I will keep Haruhi's secret" and his right said "Honor to Morinozuka-senpai!" He quickly rolled his sleeves back down, and lifted his shirt, there was a flower drawn on his stomach.

"My best work yet." Tetsuya injected before Kasanoda could even look at him strangely.

Kasanoda grumbled and put his shirt back down giving the artist an icy stare. He rolled up his right pant leg to find his leg gloriously devoid of all words, pictures, or ink of any sort. So he quickly wrote "Always check which way a door opens", threw the marker back in his drawer and moved back to his bed to sit down and mope at his recent embarrassments.

"Look, everyone had a lot to drink today. You missed it, but Yamada was carrying around a teddy bear with him, claiming it was his date earlier." Tetsuya said with a smile.

"Yeah. So?"

"So, we have a lot of cans around the house, and some half-ass sober drunks who would be up for anything if asked correctly."

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"I could persuade them to play kick the can, or maybe tag, that might be fun."

"That sounds like you being a sadist more, but I'm still in."

And with that Kasanoda and Tetsuya rounded up a family of drunks and played kick the can with them, they only had to explain everything five times, but the family members kept dropping like flies. Passing out while playing kick the can was unacceptable, so Kasanoda went back in the house, grabbed his marker, plus a spare for his partner in crime and proceeded to decorate the new lawn ornaments. When they were done having their fun, the two artists went in the house to retire for a long nights rest.

Kasanoda once again before the mirror in his bathroom, only this time he was more sure of himself, he had a plan, he knew what he would do, everything fell into place. All that was left to do was go and get her in the morning.

He finished brushing his teeth and went to his window.

"Goodnight Haruhi, I'll see you in the morning."

He shut his curtains, laid down in his bed, and forced himself to a sleep filled with ideal date scenarios, failed date scenarios, and a few little smut bunnies made it into his dreams as well.

**xxxxxxxxx Author's Notes xxxxxxxxxx**

Yay, smut bunnies decided to come out and frolic though the gooey mush that is my brain. This took the least amount of editing, ever. I'm so proud. I left my friend almost speechless. I was going to make the tsukumogami something more.... living... but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, and hundred year old appliances kidnapping your potential girlfriend is just as ridiculous as gnomes doing the same thing. So overall I'm happy. ^.^


	3. Hibernation: Over!

Kasanoda awoke with a jump, his curtains were closed, but he could see light coming from around the heavy fabric. His heart skipped a beat, thinking that he missed his date with Haruhi. He turned to look at the clock, and it dismally displayed 7:06; he had three hours until he had to meet her. He rolled over and shut his eyes. His legs started to tingle with in-activity; he sighed, rolled over and squeezed his eyes shut. When the tingle came back, he threw his blankets off and sat up.

"Fine, fine, FINE. I give up!" he said while swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.

He got up, went to his dresser and pulled open the top drawer, he grabbed the first pair of underwear that he saw, along with a pair of socks and moved on to the second drawer. This drawer made him think for a minute though. He stared at his selection of shirts of varying colors, after a while he grabbed a navy blue button-up shirt. His third drawer was an easy selection; he removed a pair of khaki pants and added them to the rest of his outfit in his left arm.

Once he was satisfied with his selections he made his way to his bathroom, he shut and locked the door, and even pulled on the door to ensure that it did _actually_ lock. He turned the hot water on in the shower, stripped off his tank top and boxers and waited for the first puffs of steam to show before he turned the cold water on to what could only be considered a trickle and stepped under the spray.

The near scalding water eased his nerves, and melted away his stress. He closed his eyes as he held his head under the stream and thought about his date today. He wondered if he would ever get to see Haruhi like he did in his dream the other night, if he would ever be able to kiss her like that. His face felt like it was hotter than the water he was under, and he could feel a warm glow in the pit of his stomach.

He opened his eyes, squeezed some shampoo into his hand and began to work it into his hair. He felt the suds work on his scalp and wondered if he could find a dress like the one in his dream. He decided that if he ever _did_ see a dress like that, he would have to buy it for her, and once he got it on her, immediately strip it off of her.

He raised his lathered head to rinse his hair, and hopefully his mind. It would not do for him to think of such perverse things while he was with her.

_**You know you want to though, you want to hole her away and learn all there is to know about her.**_

_Quiet out of you, I can't just pin her to a wall in the middle of the market, or keep her here out of sight of everyone._

_**You might not want to think about it, but you can do both of those things. Who knows, she might enjoy both of them.**_

_Didn't I just say "Quiet out of you?"_

Kasanoda sighed and reached for his bottle of conditioner.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

***clang*** "Oh no!"

Haruhi woke up with a jolt, her heart beating fast. She looked around to see the source of her early awakening, only to find nothing. She lazily got up and opened her bedroom door to find her father poking about in the kitchen; he had apparently dropped a pan, for there was a saucepan in the middle of the floor, lying on its side.

"Haruhi! I didn't wake you did I?" Ranka asked innocently.

"Yeah, but I needed to get up anyway. What are you doing?" She replied with her most apathetic, droopy eyed face.

"Isn't it obvious? Daddy's making you breakfast!"

She looked at the counter and saw two eggs; she looked at her father and saw a wooden spoon in his hand.

"You're going about it the wrong way. You don't cook eggs with a wooden spoon, nor a saucepan. Are you sure you even know how to crack an egg?"

"Go ahead, make fun of me, but I vow that you will get breakfast, and it will be made by me."

"You don't have to worry about me; I'll eat when I'm out shopping."

"You break your daddy's heart." He said with a pout that Haruhi swore she had seen Tamaki wear before.

"Aren't you supposed to be meeting someone for lunch today as well?"

Ranka gasped, looked at the clock, put his hands over his face and sighed.

"I am." He finally said from behind his hands.

"Then I think you should work on making yourself up before you have to leave, you have a five o'clock shadow."

He ran his fingers across his cheeks and gasped.

"You're right! I have a lot to do!"

And with that, he dashed away, leaving her alone in the kitchen with a stove burner on, two eggs on the counter, and staring at a saucepan on the floor.

She looked at the clock and was shocked to see that it said 8:53, only an hour until she had to catch her train to go shopping, and it would take her about fifteen minutes to get to the station, so she had about 45 minutes to get ready. Perfect. She righted the kitchen and walked off to get a shower.

When she got out she put on a plain pair of jeans, and a white t-shirt. She brushed her hair out and looked in the mirror as she put her contacts in. She blinked her eyes, trying to get the lenses to settle into place, once there she opened her eyes and gazed at her now crystal clear self.

She left the house at exactly 9:45 and got to the station right at 10.

_I feel like I'm forgetting something. _

She pulled out her list and scanned over it.

_I know we need eggs, because those two were the last ones we had. We need some chicken too; I used the last package we had in the freezer the other night. I have everything else that we need written on the list, so what am I forgetting?_

She stood there for a while longer trying desperately to remember what it was that she had forgotten when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kasanoda was out of his shower, dressed, had his teeth brushed twice, his hair brushed and the top portion of it pulled back into a pony tail all before 8:50. He didn't have to leave to get to the station until 9:30. What the hell was he going to do?

_I can't just sit here, I'll go insane. I have to move, I have to get out of here._

_**Then what the hell are you waiting for? Get out of here, get moving!**_

__He grabbed his wallet and a coat and headed for the door.

Kasanoda took his time getting to the station; he knew he pretty much had all the time in the world to get there, considering he left an hour and a half before he had to be there. He got to the station at about a quarter to ten, which surprised him; he didn't think that he had wasted that much time on the walk there. It usually took about 30 minutes to get there, but he had lost 45 minutes on the walk.

He took a seat on a bench in the station waiting for her to show up. He hoped she wouldn't be late, because he didn't think that he could be left alone for too long before his mind would drift toward the gutter, and its glorious contents.

_I hope she isn't going to be late. But then again she doesn't seem like the kind to be late. But maybe something will happen on her way her. Man, I hope nothing happens to her on her way here._

_**Why do I have to keep telling you to stop being such an idiot? She had made it to the station hundreds of times and has arrived in her natural, unmarred state. I'm sure she'll do it again.**_

___Wow, that was actually pretty sweet and helpful, what's wrong? You just as excited about this as I am?_

_**Shut up.**_

___Come on… it's got to be good if you are being this nice._

_**You really want to know? I was picturing Haruhi naked, with her silken legs spread open just waiting… no… begging for…**_

___OH MY GOD… SHUT UP… I don't need to hear that now…. Not NOW of all times. Besides, she would most certainly __**not**__ be the kind to display herself so inappropriately, much less beg for anything._

_**How do you know… already fucked her brains out? **_

___SHUT UP! It's not like I don't want to, because, I mean, I love her. But it's not like I can just take her behind a corner, pin her to the wall and ask her to be mine alone… there are social guidelines to be followed. Not to mention the fact that I would probably die of embarrassment if I were to try and do that. I don't want to frighten her off, you know? I just want to be able to…_

_**Are you done yet? 'Cause there she is.**_

__And indeed she was, while he was randomly scanning the crowd, arguing with himself she had walked through the doors. She was now looking kind of lost, with a puzzled look on her face. She pulled out a piece of paper and looked at it.

Kasanoda got up and walked over to her; she didn't even turn around she was so deep in thought, so he put his hand on her shoulder to let her know that he was there.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haruhi turned to face whoever had put their hand on her shoulder and saw red hair, and a face that even a bear would think twice about before messing with. And she noticed that the usually crowded station now had a hole in the middle of the swarm of people: where they were standing. Apparently no one wanted to get anywhere near the icy stare that had made Kasanoda famous, or rather _infamous_.

"Good morning Casanova-kun, how are you?" She said with a smile, and then it hit her, the thing that she forgot, she was going shopping with Casanova today, and he was here to meet her.

Kasanoda blushed. "I'm fine." he replied.

"Where are we going shopping?"

"Well, I know of a very nice open air market not far from stop E, so I thought we could go shopping there."

"Stop E huh? I've never been there; I usually just go to the grocer closest to stop B. It's a nice market."

With their destination decided, the got their passes and boarded the train. They sat down in what was basically the last available seat, until they saw an elderly couple board. Haruhi looked at the seniors and waved them to where she and Kasanoda were sitting.

"You can sit here." She said rising from her seat, and Kasanoda followed suit.

Once the elderly couple sat down, Kasanoda and Haruhi found a spot to stand while a few more people boarded. Kasanoda had actually thought about this happening; not about giving up their seats, but about having to stand with Haruhi next to him in such a public place, in somewhat close proximity, he blushed as he realized that he could grab her and hold her right then and there.

They both faced the front of the train as it departed and began looking nowhere in particular as the stops passed by and people took turns boarding and unloading from the train. By the time they were leaving Stop D there was a good share of people on the train, so much so that Haruhi had scooted a little closer to Kasanoda to allow for a polite social distance between both the people around her and Kasanoda.

After the train departed for their stop Kasanoda grew nervous, he wanted to talk to her, not a word had passed between them since they departed from their station, and he felt horrible about it.

"Um… our stop is next." He said nervously.

"Huh?" she said, obviously surprised by the sudden break in silence. She started turning around so that she was facing him, hoping that the action would help her hear what he said. But fate as it seemed, wanted her to do a lot more, for just when she got three-quarters through her turn, the train hitched, knocking her already slightly off balance body even more off balance and causing her to fall.

Kasanoda caught her easily with one arm, completing her turn and holding her small frame to his chest to keep her stable. She felt warm against him, her arms had instinctually wrapped around his waist, trying to keep from falling to the floor. Little did her body know that she had someone there to catch her, protect her from injury; someone who loved her.

She got her feet under her and stood up properly, and let her arms fall to her sides. Kasanoda's hand however, stayed right at the small of her back, still holding her to his chest, like he was afraid to lose her.

Haruhi looked up at him questioningly, and found his eyes were closed, and a peaceful smile donned his face.

"Um, Casanova-kun." She gently ventured.

"Just, just let me stay like this, just a little longer." And a pained, sorrow filled expression replaced his gentle smile.

Her hands came up to his shoulder blades embracing him in a gentle hug, both because she wanted to, and to seek more stability against the hitching train.

"Haruhi… I, I love you." He said with his cheek resting on the right side of her head, his voice barely a whisper.

"Hm?" she questioned, moving her head from his cheek so she could look him in the eyes.

"I love you." He repeated and let his forehead fall to rest on her shoulder; his left hand coming to join the right at the small of her back.

Haruhi looked to the train window at their reflection. He felt so warm and strong, the exact opposite of the person that his icy stare led people to believe. He had opened up to her, said that he loved her; she thought she misheard him, but then he said it again. That was so unlike him, he would usually blush and run away, not saying anything and dodging the subject. She supposed that was one of the things she liked about him, he was so different than he seemed to be.

_Shit, _she thought to herself as a deep crimson color adorned her cheeks,_ I should be saying something, not standing here like some doll._

"Casanova-kun, I…"

**xxxxxxxxxx Author's Notes xxxxxxxxxx**

DUN, DUN, DUNNNNNNNNN

My first cliff hanger! I could have continued on with the date and finished with an EXTREMELY long chapter, but this one is longer than my other ones so far anyway. I hope to make up for the cliffy in the next chapter, so we'll see how far it goes. I'm hoping to put more gumption into Kasanoda, I mean, after all, he _is_ the little boss. So, here's hoping that he'll put his balls to work, and take some initiative.


	4. The Bear and His Honey

"Casanova-kun, I…" Haruhi started before realizing that she didn't know what she was going to say next.

"You don't have to say anything; I just had to tell you how I feel."

With that said, he let her go, and looked into her beautiful brown eyes, wide with shock, and he turned away, walking to the door of the train.

"Wait," Haruhi said while she reached for his arm, grabbing hold of his sleeve "where are you going?"

Kasanoda looked back at her questioningly, but only replied "This is our stop."

"Oh." She said, letting his sleeve go and following him from the small compartment to the stuffy station.

They picked their way to the open market, it was only a few blocks away, in all, the trip took about ten minutes, but to Haruhi, it took hours.

_I should say something to him, but I don't know what._

_**You should have said something back on the train, and not stared at him like an idiot.**_

_I've never had someone tell me they loved me, I really didn't expect it. He was really warm, he must have been so embarrassed, and I couldn't even say one sentence. But really, I don't know what to say._

_**How about not saying anything and just taking action… if you know what I mean.**_

_No, absolutely not. That would make things more awkward than they already are. I think I will just play it slowly today and see where it goes. I don't want things to be awkward between us._

_**Then don't let them be; start talking!**_

"So, how did you hear about this market Casanova-kun?" she asked, only a little nervous.

"My, um, family has ties to the boss… that is, we have a friend nearby here." he said, more than a little nervous and shifty eyed.

"Oh." Haruhi said; wondering what family business ties he had here.

"But I knew it was a beautiful place, and the market would have lots of things to look at and do, so I thought you might enjoy it." a rosy pink crowned the top of his cheeks as he finished his sentence.

Haruhi looked around her, the place was beautiful. All the booths were lovingly made, and the wood showed it. They all faced toward each other to create a plaza in the middle, where there were benches, café tables and chairs. The whole place was decorated with beautiful flowers and shrubs.

_Wow, he put a lot of thought into this; he must be serious about what he said._

_**You think "I love you" isn't serious? He said it twice… TWICE!**_

_ Yeah, I get it. I feel stupid enough for not saying anything yet, thank you very much._

"-kun. Fujioka-kun?"

"Huh? Oh…"

"Are you okay Fujioka-kun?" Kasanoda asked, concern written across his face, as he led her to a nearby bench and sat down.

"I was just thinking." she said as she sat down beside him, feeling somewhat defeated by her own indecision.

"Oh."

"You put so much thought into this."

He looked at her and saw such a melancholy expression on her face that Kasanoda felt his heart sink.

"Not really, I just knew that it was a pretty place, and thought you might enjoy it. But I think I ruined it with my selfish big mouth. All I wanted was a nice afternoon with you."

Having made his peace, Kasanoda couldn't do much but look at his feet.

Haruhi made another, more detailed glance around at the shops. She saw a lot of craft items that could only have been hand made, she saw a couple of stands selling food. There were takoyaki stands, a small tea café… and then she spotted it.

"Come on."

Kasanoda looked up to see Haruhi with her hand outstretched to him, a smile sweetly gracing her face. Kasanoda meekly smiled back at her, well, as much of a smile as he cared to show in public, he did have to protect his icy reputation.

"Where?" he said, ignoring her hand and standing up from the bench on his own, preserving his manly pride.

"We aren't going to get much shopping done just sitting on a bench, and I want some ice-cream."

_**Great job, you're back to talking to him, and ended an awkward moment, I'm proud of you.**_

_Shh, I got lucky and saw the ice-cream stand, and a chocolate cone sounds pretty good right about now._

They went off to get their ice-cream, blissfully unaware of the group of eyes watching their every move.

**xxxxxxxxx**

"What's Kasanoda doing here?" said a blonde head, peeking up from behind a bush.

"I dunno, I haven't seen him here since the big Boss was still alive." said a brown head, peeking through the bush at the little couple.

"You think he's trying to make a move?" said a black head, peeking from the left side of the bush.

"I don't know Toshi, he's alone, except for that little guy with him." said the blonde.

"Shoichi, don't you think that guy looks a lot like Masahiro?" said the head in the middle of the bush.

"It could be, but it was dark the night the big Boss was killed. I can't be sure, but the stature _does_ look right now that you mention it Jun." replied the blonde.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Toshi. "I mean we could take him out right? He's for the most part alone, and unaware, we can take him."

"Are you fucking kidding me? If that is Masahiro, we can't take him, he killed the boss. How the hell do you expect us to be able to 'take him'" Jun retorted.

Shoichi was silent, it wasn't until Jun and Toshi looked at him that they saw the mischievous grin on his face, staring off into the distance after Kasanoda and his companion.

"With help." he said, turning from the bush and walking quickly down the street back towards the house.

It was all Jun and Toshi could do to keep up with him.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kasanoda and Haruhi were browsing the market, eating their ice cream, when they came across a little booth in which they found hand made jewelry. It wasn't anything fancy, but you could tell that the artist had put a lot of thought into each piece.

Haruhi looked at each piece, licking at her cone absent-mindedly.

"That one is nice." she heard Kasanoda say, she turned to see him pointing to a pale blue beaded piece that she had just looked at.

He looked at her questioningly at first, then she saw his face change, and his eyes move slightly lower, he never looked away, but he wasn't looking at her eyes anymore.

_Oh my god! He's staring at me. But what is he staring at, he's not looking beyond me, and he's not looking low enough to be staring at my chest. Is he staring at my lips? Oh my god! He's staring at my lips. He isn't going to kiss me is he? _

Kasanoda's hand reached out to her, as he leaned in closer, but his eyes never broke their gaze on her. Haruhi's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know what he was going to do, he _had_ just confessed that he loved her, but going so far as to kiss her? That was too much.

_I can't move, I don't want to hurt his feelings, I don't think he'd be so bold as to kiss me. Would he? He's such a shy guy, he gets embarrassed easily, and he wouldn't do something that._

His right index finger brushed under her chin lightly, preventing her from turning away. He was focused on only one thing.

Haruhi couldn't move. She wasn't sure if she wanted to. It wasn't that she was afraid of what he was going to do, she trusted him. But what he was going to do was the question that tore her mind apart. All she could do was look into his brown eyes, hoping that he could read her mind and hurry to answer her question.

Every fiber in Kasanoda's being was focused on her. His thumb grazed her chin, below her bottom lip, light as a feather and just as soft. Once it did, Kasanoda seemed to break from his trance and his whole face turned beet red. He moved his hand from her face like a strike of lightning and turned away from her.

_Oh god! Why did I have to do that, I mean sure, she had ice cream on her chin, but I could have told her, not wiped it off myself._

Haruhi blushed lightly, although she didn't know exactly why.

"Casanova-kun. . ." Haruhi started, extending her hand to his shoulder.

Kasanoda jumped at her touch, and turned to face her, his face a shade of red that Haruhi had never seen before. He was clearly embarrassed beyond belief. He couldn't even look away; he was like a deer caught in the headlights, his eyes were blank, nobody was home.

"Casanova-kun. . ." Haruhi started again. "Are you okay?"

"Um… well… you had some… uh." He paused, cleared his throat and tried to calm himself.

"You had some ice cream on your chin." He said meekly.

"Oh. Well, thank you." Haruhi said, with a slight twist of her head and a small smile.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You can't fucking do that! It's cheating."

"I don't know where you got the idea that I was honest, but you can forget that shit. I did it, and I'm fucking proud of it."

Suddenly the door opened to reveal Shoichi, panting and red in the face from running. He ran past the two men and their stacking challenge, knocking over both of their menial piles in the process.

"The FUCK Shoichi? We were playing here!"

But Shoichi was beyond caring, he ran down the hallway, and practically slid into the door he was looking for. He knocked and waited as patiently as he could for a voice inside to tell him it was safe to enter.

He opened the door to reveal a young man, facing the wall opposite of them. He was shirtless, kneeling on the floor, focusing on something in front of him. His raven hair was held back in a short ponytail, so as to not interfere with his work. He had scars all over his back, proof of all the "here and there" scraps he'd gotten into, and the lessons he had learned from them.

"What do you want Shoichi?" the man said flatly.

The blonde immediately fell to his knees and bowed to the man's back. He raised his head a moment later so it would be easier for the man to hear his request.

"Tatsuo, I am sorry to bother you, but while I was on patrol today with Jun and Toshi we saw… well… we…"

Shoichi cleared his throat, partially so that he could be heard, and partially because he was worried about what this man would do when he mentioned Masahiro's name.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The day started and ended normal enough. The bribes came in easily, and the boys were all drinking in the living room, watching game shows, betting on the outcomes.

As the sun set, and the boys started passing out, the Boss started walking around, in his daily grind of closing out the day. He had just finished checking all the windows when he heard a clash. He was pretty sure that all of his men were either passed out in the living room, or in their own rooms. But he went back to see what the sound was.

As he rounded the corner of the hallway to look back at the door, he was grabbed from behind; a knife was immediately put to his throat.

He started struggling to free himself from his attacker; he tried everything he knew to do. He even rammed him into the wall hard enough to knock down an antique vase he had on a small shelf. It was obvious that his attacker was stronger than he.

The Boss was tired, he had put his all into trying to escape; his muscles hurt, and he was losing blood. While he failed in losing his attacker, he had scuffled with him enough that the knife held to his throat had given him a few small cuts on his neck.

Tatsuo just happened to be one of the few men who hadn't passed out, but had merely fallen asleep. When the vase broke, Tatsuo woke with a jump, ready to fight whoever had woken him up. When he got out of the living room, he heard heavy breathing and grunting. He walked quickly down the hallway, only to see his boss, looking very much like a trapped animal.

Tatsuo couldn't see who was holding Boss, he was too focused on the fact that he was bleeding freely, with a knife still held to his throat. Before he could make a move to aid him, a flash of silver gleamed over Boss' throat as the knife caught the reflection of the moon before staining the room red. Tatsuo was frozen. How could someone get the drop on their leader like that?

The attacker stood there as his victim's lifeless body hit the floor. What happened next though chilled Tatsuo to his very core. The attacker took off his mask and stepped into the moonlight.

"The name's Masahiro, I'm sure that you want to kill me, but I simply can't allow that to happen. And while I don't know you, I look forward to killing you one day, but for now, I bid you farewell."

As quickly as he had come, he was gone again with no trace of his presence other than the grisly scene in the hallway, and a horrified teenager who had finally found the scream that was hiding within him.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haruhi had just finished her ice cream, Kasanoda's had been long gone. After wiping her chin, he didn't talk much, simply stuffed his face with his cone and only gave her passing glances. He was so embarrassed, more so than he had ever been.

"Mmm, that was delic…" Haruhi started. Kasanoda looked at her, waiting for her to finish her statement, but only saw her staring off at a booth in the distance like she was in a trance, so much so that she tripped over a raised bit of cement in the walkway and lost her shoe. Kasanoda made sure she had righted herself before bending down to pick up her shoe. She had chosen to sit down on a bench, since walking wasn't exactly working well for her at the moment.

Kasanoda returned with her shoe and started to pick up her foot to put it on for her, when she abruptly snatched her foot back from his hand.

"What's wrong Fujioka-kun?" he asked, a little concerned.

"N-nothing." She said, putting her foot back down, but looking like there was definitely _not_ nothing wrong.

He grabbed her foot again and started to brush the dirt off of her sock, from where she had taken a few steps to get to the bench when she snatched her foot back and snickered at him.

"Wait; are you ticklish Fujioka-kun, on your feet?"

"No." She said flatly taking her shoe from him and finishing what he had started. "What would make you think that?"

"Nothing I guess, I just never thought you would be ticklish, especially on your feet."

"Okay, well, I am. But, if you don't mind, don't tell the club members please? They'll just think it's adorable, and try and tickle me until my feet fall off."

"It's a deal." He said standing up from the bench. "Wait here for a second, there's something I have to do. Okay?"

"Alright, I'll just sit here and…" When she looked back up to where he was a standing, he was gone. "Well that was quick."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"They did the hard part for us Tatsuo!" Shoichi remarked as he saw Kasanoda leave Haruhi on the bench. "All we have to do now is get him."

"A protruding post is hammered down." Tatsuo muttered back at him.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"That means, wait a fucking minute, and be patient. If that is Masahiro, he isn't going to go down with a rush in of two people. Wait for the others to get into position."

"Oh." Shoichi said quietly, looking around impatiently.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kasanoda had finally found it; the booth that Haruhi had been staring at when she tripped. Now all he had to do was find out what had caught her attention so.

"Is there something I can help you with?" The woman running the booth asked, as she put her broom away to devote her attention to Kasanoda.

"I'm just looking for something that a friend of mine was staring at earlier." He said absentmindedly as he browsed the woman's wares, then he saw it. "How much does this one here cost?" he asked, while reaching down to pick it up.

Kasanoda was just getting the bag from the woman when he heard the commotion.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxx **

"CASANOVA-KUN!" Haruhi screamed as she was slung over some stranger's shoulders, and a bag was placed over her head.

"WE'VE GOT HIM! RUN!" Shoichi shouted to 10 some odd men standing around him and Tatsuo.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Kasanoda had already tucked away his bag, and made it halfway across the market before realizing that he was running through bushes, and flowerbeds. But he didn't care, someone had just kidnapped the woman he loved. All he cared about now was tracking them down, and kicking some ass.

He ran down one of the slower guys and squeezed it out of him that they were headed to a small abandoned house not too far from where they were. He quickly started that way, his heart racing, his mind was shut off. He couldn't think about anything but Haruhi's safety.

_She's got to be okay. If something happened to her… No… she's okay. She'll be okay. She'll be okay. She'll be okay… _

When Kasanoda arrived at the house, he didn't even open the gate, he simply jumped the short fence, ran across the yard, stomped up the stairs and kicked the door in.

"HARUHI?" he thundered when he stormed through the now barren door jamb.

"C-Casanova-kun?" Haruhi said, sounding a little scared and worried at the same time.

Kasanoda's rage had somewhat washed away at just hearing her voice. He looked around to find her sitting on the stairs to the second story. Her hands and feet were still tied, but she was okay. He ran to her.

"Are you okay Haruhi?" He asked hurriedly, paying no attention to his use of her name, he was too worried to care if people found out she was a girl.

"She's fine." A voice from behind him chimed in.

Kasanoda turned around and was surprised to see someone sitting in a chair behind him, he hadn't seen him there when he came in, he was too focused on making sure Haruhi was alright.

"There was just a little bit of a mix-up." Shoichi tried to explain. "You see, we thought she was an assassin that had been sent here before. She looked so much like him. This is really embarrassing… you have no ide…"

He didn't get to finish his explanation, Kasanoda had quite effectively silenced his loud mouth with his fist, Shoichi fell to the floor.

Kasanoda scooped Haruhi up, not bothering to untie her there, she didn't argue with him, simply laid her head on his shoulder. He just wanted to get her out of there and to somewhere he could talk to her.

_He must have been worried sick about me. His heart is beating so fast. He must have run the whole way here. And he used my name, not my last name. I kind of liked it._

Once they were out of the house, Kasanoda carried her to an alley, where he could untie her without having questions asked or suspicions raised.

He set her down and started on her feet first, so she could properly stand on her own and not have to lean against the wall.

"Haruhi, I don't know what that was all about, but I promise you, it will _never_ happen again. I'll make sure of that."

"Kasanoda-kun, I'm okay. They didn't do anything to me. Thank you" she said as he finally got her feet untied. "Once they realized that I wasn't who they were looking for…"

"I don't care. They tied you up, slung you over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes and toted you off." He looked her in the eyes as he said it, finishing untying her hands.

"But I'm fine Kasanoda-kun."

"I know." He said, as he hugged her close, like if he were to let her go, she might disappear. As he finally let her go, his hands came over her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes once again, as he moved his left hand from her shoulder to her cheek, tucking his fingers in her hair.

"I was just… so worried." He said as he moved closer, feeling her breathe in. He let out his breath that he'd been holding, trying to calm himself down, as he did, she did the same. He leaned in even closer and captured her lips in a kiss.

It was a short, chaste kiss, but full of emotion; everything that he'd been feeling, all of his worry, his care, and his love in one kiss.

****

Okay... so I know... it took forever. I only partially didn't know what the hell I was going to do. So I dropped it for a while. When I picked it up again though... I got this. Which... I'm very happy with. And I hope you guys are the same. Here's hoping that it won't take **NEARLY **as long for the next one. Now that I have a general idea of where I want it to go.**  
**


	5. With A Taste So Sweet

Okay, so, it's been a while... a long while, and I'm truly sorry for that, but a case of writer's block and further plot thoughts kind of kept me busy and a little frozen. And the call of the real world had to be answered. But, I tried to make this chapter a little longer just for you guys as a kind of apology. Thanks for your patience and thank you so much for reading. Your reviews have kept me thinking on this and urged me to go on. 3 Much love.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kasanoda pulled away from the kiss, feeling both proud and scared. What if she didn't return his feelings? What if she did but wasn't ready for that step yet? What if she wanted more? What if he sucked at kissing?

Haruhi lingered with her eyes closed, taking in what had just happened.

_He just kissed me! My first ACTUAL kiss; my body is tingling, I wonder if I'm blushing. I can still feel his lips on mine. This feeling is amazing._

_**Of course it is… but stop acting like kid that colored inside the lines for the first time.**_

_This __**is**__ a first for me… let me enjoy it. I kind of want to do it again._

_**Then…. Do it?**_

Kasanoda raised his hand and brushed her cheek before placing it on her shoulder with a sigh.

"What's wrong Kasanoda-kun?" Haruhi asked as her head slowly stopped spinning and she realized that Kasanoda wasn't acting like himself. He wasn't blushing, turning away, or even coming up with reasons for them to leave the secluded alley and join the bustle of the street.

"It's just that, I've wanted to do that for so long. I never did because I was… well… When I saw them running away with you, I thought I would never see you again. Or that you were going to get hurt. I don't know what I would have done if…" His body grew heavy with the thought of what could have happened. He knew the ins and outs of the business; he knew exactly how lucky he was that those simpletons were the worst that happened.

"But I'm not hurt Kasanoda-kun. It was mistaken identity, nothing more."

"Believe me, that's enough for people like that. They don't need to know who you are; they don't _care_ who you are, just as long as they get their revenge, their money, or whatever personal gain they may be in need of. They could have seriously hurt you. I know that you are a strong girl, that you are independent… but…"

Haruhi thought about what had happened while Kasanoda was talking, and the more she thought, the more she felt afraid that she _could_ have been hurt. Kasanoda was right, she did get really lucky. Sure the same outcome might have happened had Kasanoda not been with her, but what would have happened if they hadn't realized who she was?

"Kasanoda-kun…" Haruhi started, but Kasanoda was on a roll.

"I don't want you to ever have to go through something like that. I want to protect you from it, keep you safe."

"You sound so cliché Kasanoda-kun."

"I know that you probably don't feel the same way that I feel about you; and that's fine. I'll even understand if you don't want to be around me anymore, with my family business and all."

Haruhi reached her right hand up and placed it over his on her shoulder, instantly Kasanoda stopped.

"Kasanoda-kun, I know what your family does is dangerous, before today I didn't know just how much so. I didn't want to admit it, but I was scared when they took me away. I know I could have been hurt, but I wasn't, thanks to you."

Kasanoda slowly lifted his head to meet her gaze, his face still solemn. She looked different somehow, he couldn't tell why, or what had changed, he just knew that he never wanted to let this moment go. He felt horrible for allowing her to be taken away so easily, but deep inside, he was thanking those thugs for allowing him this opportunity to express his feelings, forcing him to find the guts to make a move.

Haruhi could do nothing but stare back at Kasanoda, dumbstruck. She had never been in a situation like this before. No one aside from her father had been so protective over her… in such a genuine way; unlike Tamaki, or Kyoya. Tamaki's empty-headed thoughts of familial love or Kyoya's protection over her because of her debt had nothing on Kasanoda's care today. She was seeing Kasanoda, the _real_ Kasanoda for the first time, and it intrigued her.

"Thank you." She finished, dropping her hand from his as she slowly turned to leave the alley and once again return to the normalcy of the market. As she reached the sunny barrier of the alley she turned around to glance back at Kasanoda, he was still where she left him, with the same sad look on his face.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked, looking back with a small smile.

"Uh… yeah…" he said as he broke from his trance. He walked toward her, and she held out her hand.

"Let's go over there!" he reached his hand out, she grabbed it and practically pulled him from the shadows.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Hey, why do we have to be here? I feel like I'm melting, it's so hot!"

"Now you know how I feel, every time you look at me. You are so vulnerable, come, let me take care of you." replied Hikaru, deftly sweeping his twin into arms, placing a compress on his forehead.

"Will you two stop it? We aren't in the club room; there is no one else around. The only reason we are here, is to make sure that Tamaki doesn't get himself hurt."

"Kyoya-kun, you're so nice looking after Tamaki-kun." said Hunni, moving his sucker from one cheek to the other.

"And exactly why are we here Tamaki?" asked Kyoya.

"Because," explained Tamaki, "_this_ is the market closest by Haruhi's house."

"That explains NOTHING!" echoed the twins.

"It means that _this_ is where she does all her shopping!" Tamaki exclaimed as he pulled out a sale paper. "This is where she goes when she needs milk." he said, pointing to an advertisement for gallons of milk. "This is where she buys coffee, tea, rice, and whatever that thing is!" he said, pointing to other items on the paper excitedly.

"I believe it's called a microwavable dinner." Mori said flatly, looking at Tamaki's glittering eyes wide with wonder.

"We came all this way so you could do your own shopping?" asked Kyoya, looking neither amused, nor amazed with the sales paper's fancy letters and flashy numbers.

"We left air conditioned houses for something you could have done with your kitchen help?" Kaoru weakly asked from his brother's lap.

Tamaki simply waved the question off. "Atsuka-sempai doesn't shop anywhere around here, I checked." Hikaru simply let his head fall back to Kaoru's embrace with a long sigh.

"Maybe we'll see Haru-chan in there." Hunni exclaimed, seeming to just catch on to what exactly it was that Tamaki was looking to do out here.

"Do you think so?!" Tamaki asked, seemingly a little _too_ enthusiastically. It was clear that he had NO earthly idea exactly why he had come here, other than expanding his knowledge of "common folk." The stalker-like thought that their debut at Haruhi's local market would seem awkward didn't even cross his mind as he quickly made his way through the cars, screaming something about Haruhi not worrying about her microwave, he'd help her choose a flavor.

Defeated by their beloved leader's dense emotions, the rest of the crew shrugged their shoulders and walked into the store, defeated.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haruhi and Kasanoda had finished looking at all the booths, and were on their way back to the train station when the first drops of rain started to fall.

By the time they got off the train, it had changed from a drizzle to a steady pour. Luckily on the way out of the station, some weather savvy entrepreneur was selling umbrellas. They were small, but cheap, so Kasanoda didn't mind shelling out the money if it meant that Haruhi would be dry on the way home.

They walked to the exit of the station and Kasanoda handed her the umbrella. "Here, use this."

"But Kasanoda-kun, you'll get wet. You could catch a cold. There's room if we stay together."

"I'll be fine, just as long as you don't get sick."

_That was really sweet of him to get the umbrella; I wish I would have watched the news closer so I would have known about the rain._

_**Yeah, but you can't let him get drenched just because it was a sweet gesture he did for you.**_

_I __**think**__ I may have a solution. If he won't walk with me, I'll make him._

_**Ooooh, the plot thickens.**_

Seemingly satisfied, Haruhi stepped out into the rain with Kasanoda beside her. But instead of letting him get away with his blatant disregard for himself, she slyly reached her arm out to his, grabbed his elbow and pulled him under the small umbrella.

"Haruhi… what are you…" Kasanoda started.

She locked her arm around his elbow and put the umbrella in her hand to provide better shelter, and to lock him in better.

"My turn to look out for you." She said with a small grin as a slight blush crept across her cheeks.

He looked at her, she looked so content and happy, and he couldn't take this away from her for some foolish manly pride. It had to take a lot for her to be so forward, when she was usually so melancholy and neutral. He looked down at her softly, taking in the moment; he'd never had anything like this before. He'd escorted girls before for dances or marches, but never a girl that he loved.

"Thank you." was all that he could say as he tucked his arm up to complete the lock.

They walked arm in arm for a couple of blocks, exchanging weather stories along the way, before Haruhi realized that they weren't anywhere near where they should be. They had gotten off a stop early.

"That's not right… Um… Kasanoda-kun, we got off at the wrong stop."

"We did?"

"Yes, because that's the market that I usually go to, it's only one stop away from the one for my house."

They were just deciding whether or not to hit the train to the right stop, or just to walk the few extra blocks when they heard a familiar voice shouting in the lot of the store.

"BUT WHAT IF HARUHI CAN'T CHOOSE THE RIGHT FLAVOR FOR HER MICROWAVE?!"

Only one loveable idiot would be so naïve as to think microwaves had flavors, and care that _she_ had the right one.

"Great." Haruhi muttered as she quickly tried to come up with a solution to her new dilemma. Should she hide Kasanoda from them? If she didn't, she'd have to come up with a pretty good excuse as to why he was over here with her, sharing an umbrella, with linked arms.

_CRAP! Just when I think that I can have a normal day._

_**Wise man once said, or at least should have said, there are no normal days, only days.**_

_But what are they doing…. well, I know what they are doing here, but what is he doing here?_

_**Maybe you should solve your problem before asking questions, neh?**_

"Is… that who I think it is?" Kasanoda asked.

"Yes." she replied flatly.

"I don't think I could handle him right now."

"I'm not looking to be taken on a wild goose chase, things with him always go around in circles, and I've been in enough circles today." Haruhi said, tucking her arm tighter to her side, feeling Kasanoda's warmth.

"Then let's ditch him."

She thought for a moment, trying to come up with some sort of escape plan.

"Quick! Down this street, we'll just go around them." she said, pulling Kasanoda with her.

Meanwhile, Kyoya was trying to calm down an emotionally distraught Tamaki outside of the market.

"I'm sure that you have nothing to worry about, Haruhi has lived with this sort of thing her whole life. You on the other hand, have only just heard of this concept. Not to mention the fact that I think you have this entire "flavor" thing wrong."

"But…" Tamaki started.

But Kyoya had that eerie look in his eyes. That glare that Tamaki knew all too well. It said that he meant what he said, and that he'd had enough of this place. Knowing that some sort of harm might befall him should he decide to press the issue, Tamaki slunk back from his proud defender position inside the grocery cart he'd found at some point in his courageous monologue about saving Haruhi.

"Are we done here? I have kitchen maids to bother." said Hikaru.

Tamaki, looking utterly defeated started walking out of the parking lot from around the car he'd taken refuge behind. They all piled out behind Tamaki, letting him lead the way, trying to lessen the blow to his ego as their leader. They had no idea where they were going, and neither did Tamaki, until they rounded a corner and saw a familiar red headed figure walking their way.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The detour was going great, the rain had slackened and the sun was starting to come out again, leaving that light mist to cool the air and break the heat.

Haruhi still had her death grip on Kasanoda's arm though, she did have a good excuse though; the sidewalk they were walking on just so happened to be under a bunch of trees.

"I love how everything looks after it rains, like everything is shiny and new." said Haruhi, looking around at the flowerbeds.

"Everything can finally breathe again after the storm," Kasanoda added. "The trees can stand taller; the grass looks greener, even the flowers open up a little more."

"To be fair, it was pretty hot earlier." Haruhi chided. "If I were them I would look better after a break from the heat."

"I guess people are the same way, after something dramatic happens, they reflect and change their perspective on things. Like a person that has a near death experience will look at their loved ones with more longing, take them for granted less. You know?"

"No..." replied Haruhi, looking straight ahead, eyes fixed on something down the way.

"What I mean is, things change when you know that something is going to be taken away from you. You don't always get the time you need to do things at your own leisure."

"No, I get what you mean, I just can't believe _that!_" Haruhi said, pointing ahead of them, her eyes looking disappointed and surprised.

Kasanoda didn't have to look hard to see the blonde head bounding down the alley.

"I thought we were dodging them."

"This alley doesn't go toward the station they would have to take home, so I thought we were. Clearly Tamaki doesn't know where he's going, _yet again_." She replied flatly.

"What are we going to do now?" Kasanoda asked hurriedly.

"I-I don't know. We could turn around and run, but that would draw attention. We can't just walk away; he'll catch up to us in no time at his pace."

"I guess we don't really have a choice then; we have to face them." Kasanoda concluded sadly, letting go of Haruhi's arm and stepping away from her. He tried his best to not look sad as he left her warm embrace.

No sooner had they both gotten comfortable with their new stride that all too familiar voice came floating through the alley.

"HAAAARRRRUUUUUHHHHHIIII! What light through such dark alley breaks? I am lost but from yon I see a face! It is a face that burns brighter than a thousand suns, nay, far many more. Your face burns brighter than the universe and all its trappings. Would you do this fool the greatest pleasure this day and stroll with me?" Tamaki said, falling to one knee and pulling a single rose from out of nowhere.

"He's a fool alright, we've been walking for days now and we're nowhere near home." Hikaru groaned.

"I fear the sun may have roasted what little there was of his brain. But at least he did find Haruhi so we have some sort of guide that _actually_ knows where they are going." Kyoya explained.

"Hey! We found Bossanova-kun too! What are _you_ doing all the way out here?" chided Kaoru.

"I... um… that is… We were shopping…" Kasanoda started shakily

"And we ran into each other and now that we're both done shopping, we were headed to the train station." Haruhi finished for him, seeing how horribly flustered Kasanoda was.

"Yes." He agreed, shifting on his feet.

"Then, we shall accompany you to the station. I simply cannot bear the thought of you walking all by yourself in such a place." Tamaki said, with a worried look on his face, as though she had never been to the market by herself alone, let alone in the train station.

_How am I going to get Kasanoda all to myself if I have this gaggle of fools tagging along?_

_**Simply? You won't.**_

_Damn._

"Isn't that right Haruhi?"

She snapped back to the matter at hand. And looked for who questioned her but was promptly swept into Tamaki's tight embrace.

"Are you insane?! How heartless are you that you would make poor Haruhi walk all alone without her daddy?!"

"Tamaki, I don't know how many times I have to tell…" Haruhi started by was cut short by Kyoya, and his ever impatient love for their "beloved leader."

"If your navigational skills are to be all that we have to rely on to get back home, and judging by the two hours that it took us just to get here; we should not only have faith in her, but if we leave now, we might actually make it home before dark. I couldn't hope to make it home for dinner, not with you leading the way. I'm sure Haruhi is more than competent with the ins and outs of the train station and the way there."

Haruhi nearly choked on Kyoya's words. Could this actually turn out okay? Could she actually get time alone with Kasanoda and talk about what she was feeling? More importantly; could she get another kiss?

Tamaki looked around at his troops, Kaoru was still in the tender embrace of his brother, Hunni was neatly perched on Mori's back, eyes looking heavy as lead. Perhaps it was time to give up the day and retreat to refresh the ranks.

"But…" He started sadly, knowing that he was fighting a battle he was going to lose; he never won against Kyoya when it came to things like this. Kyoya's pointed logic won out over any whim of his.

"Besides, if you want to help Haruhi you still have time, it seems she doesn't have a dinner, so we can go back to the market and run a thorough sampling so that should she need it, you can help her decide" he paused, as if it pained him to think about his next words, "which flavor microwave to get."

He closed his eyes, knowing that this would work, and that he would have to go back into that cramped building, dodging shopping baskets, and wrangling Tamaki to strictly the freezer section. And that was only if Tamaki let him off the hook for the actual sampling of the dinners.

Tamaki's eyes met with new light as he decided to save Haruhi from the great microwave dilemma before it started!

"Haruhi, go home, cook dinner, do not, under any circumstances stop anywhere and get one of these deceptive dishes! I shall investigate them for you! I shall not let you walk blindly into the depths of their caloric captivations!"

With this proclamation, he turned about-face and marched away, he turned back and looked at his friends, they were merely looking at him as if he were incompetent than usual. It was then that he realized that the market was in the opposite direction. He quickly turned on his heels and started to the market.

"Aaaand, we're off!"

"There's no stopping him once he's made up his mind like this, not even for me. I just hope that I can actually make it home before dark." Kyoya said sadly, turning to the others. "Let's keep him from doing something that we'll all regret, all else fails, I'll bludgeon him so we can leave."

"You'll have to beat me to the punch on that one Kyoya." Kaoru added, standing from Hikaru and running a hand down his cheek. "If my brother misses any of his beauty rest on account of this nonsense, I'll kill him; slowly."

With that asserted, the twins fell in line with Tamaki; Kaoru mumbling something about the only person allowed to take his Hikaru's sleep was him. Mori said his farewell to Haruhi, followed by a very sleepy Hunni. The twins heard this and hurriedly threw back a goodbye.

Kyoya was the last to leave, but certainly not the least. He looked at Haruhi for a moment, then to Kasanoda.

"Goodbye." He shifted his gaze back to Haruhi. "I'll see you at the club… Goodbye Haruhi."

As soon as he was out of earshot, she let out a sigh. She couldn't believe that this actually happened; they were left alone, and dodged the bullet-train that is Tamaki.

"I… can't believe that just happened." She said finally and Kasanoda let out a sigh of his own, as if he had been holding his breath the entire time.

"I can't believe it, but I'm glad it did. I was NOT looking forward to spending time with anyone other than you. I was having fun." Haruhi smiled as she at Kasanoda's clearly relieved face.

"Me too, although he was right about having to get home, the boys have probably left a massive mess for me to clean up."

"And as much as I would hate to admit it, Tamaki was right, I need to cook dinner."

"Onward, to the train station then?" Kasanoda asked, offering his arm for her to take once again, she obliged, smiling pleasantly while opening the umbrella once again, to fend off the last of the raindrops.

They walked away from the market, down the alley once again; their steps lightly splattering in the small puddles on the way.

When they made it to the train station Haruhi tucked the umbrella back into its sleeve, and then reclaimed her perch on Kasanoda's arm, even as the bobbed and weaved through the crowds of people, she didn't let him go; like she was afraid of being swept away again. Kasanoda seemed to sense what she was feeling; he held fast to her arm, he had the same feeling.

"Which stop are you getting off at?" Haruhi asked, glancing at the station map that she knew all too well.

"That depends on which one you get off at." He replied, staring at the map, as though he was trying to see her house through all the tiny dots and letters.

Haruhi looked up at him; she had never actually just looked at him like this before. The way his hair fell just to his shoulders; his fly-aways tucked neatly behind his ear. His face was strong, it hid is true nature, he looked gruff and grating, but she had seen who he really was, how he really felt.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking up at him questioningly.

"I mean, I'm not about to just let you walk home alone. Not after everything that happened today; what sort of gentleman would that make me?"

Her face changed to one of calm surprise; she wasn't expecting him to walk her home, but it was nice of him to be such a gentleman. She was much more accustomed to the club members, who were so self absorbed in their own endeavors (or in the case of the twins, each other); save for Tamaki of course, but who could want that kind of affection lumped onto them? They didn't really pay much attention to her as a woman. Well, that would probably be because of their clever ruse, but even outside of school, none of them showed her the tender affections that she was getting from Kasanoda.

She turned away from his gaze to look back at the dull colors on the map.

"I get off at 5th." She said meekly, shifting the umbrella in her hand.

"That's not far at all." He said, seeming surprised that she lived so close to where they had accidentally wound up. "Although I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you did say that you normally shop at this market."

"Yeah... Oh! The train, it's here." Haruhi said with a jolt and proceeded to drag Kasanoda to the train before they missed it entirely.

They boarded, and much to their dismay there were no seats available. So they claimed a post for themselves by the door of the crowded cabin.

Through the short ride, Kasanoda held her arm, keeping her from the rest of the passengers, despite the bucking and tossing of the train, only once did he have to hold her tight to keep her from falling.

They exited the train as quickly as they entered, and passed through the gates, arm in arm, with Haruhi leading the way. The sidewalks were drier here; it hadn't rained nearly as hard as it had at the market. They made their way down the streets quietly, the rain having sent most people inside. But as they got closer to her house, Haruhi slowed down the pace, trying to enjoy the last moments she had with him left in the day.

"I had a lot of fun today, save for the whole mistaken identity thing, you know?" Haruhi said, looking down the street at nothing.

"So did I."

"I live right around the corner; you see that brick building with the white awnings? Mine is right around the corner, beside that."

"Ah." Kasanoda said, sounding slightly sad that they had already arrived.

"It would probably be better if you didn't walk me right up to the door. I'm not sure if Ranka is there but that's one discussion I do _not_ want to have."

"Well, okay… I mean, I don't get it, but I'm sure you know what you're talking about."

Haruhi said nothing; she took her hand from his arm and wrapped it around his waist, underneath of his coat, feeling his muscles tighten and release as the shock of her movement subsided, leaving her feeling his warmth. She pulled herself to his chest in such a gentle embrace that it seemed she were afraid to touch him, yet could not dream to pull herself away. He wrapped his arms around her small form, feeling her sigh with relief at his embrace.

It was such a simple gesture, yet seemed to put them both at such ease that they seemed to stay there for hours.

Haruhi pulled her head from his chest to look him in the eye.

"Thank you for today; for everything."

Kasanoda simply blushed and looked away.

_Now's my chance, one little goodbye kiss and this day will be one for the books._

_**I would suggest moving a bit quicker then, because you're burning daylight just dawdling in his arms here.**_

Haruhi steeled herself; she decided to make her move. She looked at his face and thought how sweet he looked when he blushed like that. She took one more breath against his chest and then pulled her body apart from his; she pulled left hand from beneath his coat and ran it slowly up his chest to his shoulder where she lifted out from the coat to place her curled fingers on his cheek. She lifted herself on her toes a little to be able to reach, as she leant in closer, slowing closing her eyes. As he did the same she moved to unfurl her fingers and feel the warmth of his cheek and that's when it happened, she poked him in the eye.

He immediately recoiled from her embrace with a howl of pain, placing his right hand over his poor gouged orbit.

Haruhi tried her best to comfort him, but to no avail, there is simply no coming back from accidentally jamming one's finger into another's eye socket. She ended up simply rubbing his back as he slumped forward; apologizing profusely.

He attempted to straighten up and blink it off, telling her that it's okay, that's he was fine, or rather that he would _be_ fine.

Once he reached the point where he could actually see more than blurs of color, he reassured her more convincingly that he was indeed okay, and that there was no harm. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gripped them; then he let his hands slide down to grasp her hands. He brought them to his face, on his terms this time, and kissed them.

"Goodnight Haruhi, I hope you sleep well. We'll have to do this again sometime, you know, minus the kidnapping and the eye gouging… especially the eye gouging."

Haruhi looked saddened at this, but smiled a little in spite of herself.

"Okay, sounds like a deal."

She turned and headed toward the brick building, Kasanoda watched her round the corner and then departed on his own for the train station, still rubbing at his eye.

"Yep, this was a good day." He sighed and smiled as he collapsed to his bed, thinking of that kiss; and wondering just what Haruhi would have done had things not gone afoul at the last possible second.

He reflected for a bit more, feeling her lips still on his before finally changing clothes to clean up the mess that the boys had left; smiling the whole time.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haruhi walked down the hall toward the club room like she had a million times before, but something wasn't right, something was off; it was dark outside, and there was no one else in the hall.

She put her hand on the door handle and saw a bright light coming from below the door; it poured out and blinded her as she slowly swung the door open.

When she regained her vision, she glanced around the room; nothing seemed out of place, although for some reason Hunni's nap corner had an actual bed in it. She looked to the chair that Tamaki uses for greetings, and saw none other than Kasanoda, sitting sideways with his legs draped over the arms of the would be throne.

He wasn't in his usual uniform, his hair hang loose from its usual ponytail and he was wearing a light blue t-shirt and dark jeans.

He looked at her as soon as she entered, gazed at her, his eyes were burning, but she couldn't tell with what, but they were pulling her in, urging her to come to him. How could she deny him? He had saved her, been there for her when she needed him, he loved her.

Her feet were light as a breeze as she stepped toward him. With every step she made, he turned himself in the chair so that when she actually made it to him, he was facing her. She felt naked standing before him like this; she had to glance down to both break from his gaze and to make sure that she was actually wearing clothes. She slowly turned her head back up to him; his brown eyes still seeming to wish her closer, he reached out his hand and she took it in kind.

He pulled her to him, lowered her into his lap and bowed his head and kissed her. She felt as though she could float away at any moment. His hand was on her right cheek, cradling her head as he lowered his head again; his breath was soft and warm as he moved to kiss her neck, she bit back a gasp and turned her blushing face into his shoulder; she was putty in his hands and she knew it. And she wouldn't have had it any other way. He was still kissing her neck as he brought his other hand from her lap to her breast, kneading it gently through her shirt as he nipped at her ear. His breathing was becoming heavier, hers just as much so, she didn't care about anything else, she just didn't want him to stop.

But that's just what he did; he pulled back from her neck to look at her, to see what effect he had on her. He didn't get much of a look, for she had the same yearning he did now, she turned herself on his lap, so now she was straddling his waist, she could feel his arousal. She put her hands on the high back of the chair; caging him in as she bent in to kiss him in much the same way he had done her. However, she wasn't expecting him to lift her up when she moved her hands to his shoulders when she curled to kiss his neck.

He carried her over to the bed so conveniently close, she was kissing and nibbling his neck the whole way. He stood over the bed, still holding her as she finally pulled away from his neck to whisper in his ear. "I love you too."

He dropped her on the bed as though his arms had broken…

Haruhi awoke with a jolt; the rain had come back, only this time it brought thunder and lightning with it. She heard the low rumble of the crack that had awoken her fading. She sighed deeply and fell back to her pillow.

"Wow…" she said as she drifted back to sleep.


End file.
